Knife Definition & Meaning

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    • Synonyms knife American [nahyf] / naɪf /

    noun

    plural

    knives

    1. an instrument for cutting, consisting essentially of a thin, sharp-edged, metal blade fitted with a handle.

    2. a knifelike weapon; dagger or short sword.

    3. any blade for cutting, as in a tool or machine.

    verb (used with object)

    knifed, knifing

    1. to apply a knife to; cut, stab, etc., with a knife.

    2. to attempt to defeat or undermine in a secret or underhanded way.

    verb (used without object)

    knifed, knifing

    1. to move or cleave through something with or as if with a knife.

      The ship knifed through the heavy seas.

    idioms

    1. under the knife, in surgery; undergoing a medical operation.

      The patient was under the knife for four hours.

    knife British / naɪf /

    noun

    1. a cutting instrument consisting of a sharp-edged often pointed blade of metal fitted into a handle or onto a machine

    2. a similar instrument used as a weapon

    3. to have a grudge against or victimize someone

    4. to make a bad situation worse in a deliberately malicious way

    5. people are determined to harm or put a stop to someone

      the knives are out for Stevens

    6. undergoing a surgical operation

    "Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

    verb

    1. to cut, stab, or kill with a knife

    2. to betray, injure, or depose in an underhand way

    "Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 knife More Idioms

    1. see at gunpoint (knifepoint); under the knife; you could cut it with a knife.

    Other Word Forms

    • knifelike adjective
    • knifer noun

    Etymology

    Origin of knife

    before 1100; Middle English knif, Old English cnīf; cognate with Dutch knijf, German Kneif, Old Norse knīfr

    Example Sentences

    Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

    The iconic shell that fractures just slightly under your knife, giving way to the dense interior beneath.

    From Salon

    Logo link to Salon

    I put my knife and fork together, wiped my mouth with my serviette and said, ‘Please may I leave the table?’

    From Literature

    I reached for the first potato and the knife that swung on its hook and began to cut.

    From Literature

    If you were born with the teeny-tiny DNA glitch that allowed you to slide in and out of time like a knife through butter, you were handed over to your country’s branch of the Academy.

    From Literature

    A week after Ibrahima's death, about 1,000 people gathered at the scene of the attack, calling for an end to knife crime.

    From BBC

    Logo link to BBC

    Related Words

    • bayonet
    • blade
    • cutter
    • dagger
    • machete
    • scalpel
    • sickle
    • skewer
    • sword

    Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

    Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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